While the prospect of multi-hyphenate Tyler Perry gearing up for a lead detective role in “Alex Cross” initially perked the interest of some, it was the first look at Matthew Fox playing the film's bulked-up burst of insanity that really showed some promise, and now a rush of seven clips from the crime franchise reboot have arrived to drum up anticipation further.
However, after a rather uninvolving teaser gave off the average James Patterson adaptation vibe — albeit with two unique elements to the project — these new clips center almost solely on Cross' intense banter with Fox's cage-fighting serial killer, and the result is worryingly keeping in that first trailer's line of thinking. Every piece of dialogue from the acting pair is imbued with portent, as they trade general threats and quote Confucius with ease. Elsewhere, Rachel Nichols looks lost, while Edward Burns (in his role as Cross' partner) can almost be seen calculating how much of his next micro-budget indie's budget will be covered by his studio paycheck.
Summit has delayed reviews of “Alex Cross” until it opens October 19th, so a quality result may be asking for too much with the Rob Cohen-directed flick, which also stars Jean Reno, John C. McGinley, and Giancarlo Esposito. Let's hope Fox at least follows through on his early promise and delivers a streak of exuberance through the cloud of mediocrity that Perry's once-interesting venture seems to have produced.
Check out the clips below.